OUR APOLOGIES AS THIS SITE IS CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION.

NEW WEAR TOGETHER NYC WEBSITE COMING SOON!!!

PLEASE VISIT OUR FB PAGE TO CONTACT US IN THE MEANTIME!https://www.facebook.com/BabywearingNYC/

Meetups

We have meetups all around the city. Meetups are a great place to get help with a carrier that isn't fitting well, to try new things, and to meet other babywearers. Below is our current lineup. Please join us on Facebook for Event announcements and for additional meeting information. Please arrive on time if you have specific issue you would like us to address. All caregivers are welcome!

Only VBEs (Volunteer Babywearing Educators) are accredited to assist at meetings. If you need help, please look for a VBE. If you are a very experienced babywearer (yay! we love you guys!) please refrain from helping attendees with carries, especially back carries, until a VBE is available.

BROOKLYNTBA

MANHATTAN

Harlem - Meetings at Kalahari Condominiums (40 West 116th Avenue, New York, 10026). Meetings are generally the second or third Sunday of the month, 3:30-5pm.

Inwood - Meetings at the Inwood Branch of the New York Public Library, upstairs in the children's activity room. Generally held the 4th Friday of the month, 10:15 - 11:30am. Next Meeting: Friday March 23rd 10:15-11:30am

Upper East Side - Please note the location change while our regular meeting location is under construction. Meetings during these months will be held at 67th street branch library - Generally every third Wednesday of the month from 10-11:30am .Next meeting: Wednesday March 14th 11:30-1 p.m.

QUEENS

Long Island City - Meetings at City Owlets (1042 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City, 11101). Please note that meetings need to close the meeting promptly at 11am, so we usually start packing up aa few minutes early, Generally the third Saturday of each month, 9:30 - 11am. Next meetings: Sunday March 18th 1-3 p.m.

Woodside - Meetings at the Woodside Branch of the Queens Library (54-22 Skillman Avenue). Generally the second Friday each month 10am - 12pm. Next meetings:

THE BRONX

Yankee Stadium neighborhood: 810 Gerard Ave, Bronx, 10451, in the "studio". Ring the buzzer to be let in and head to the back. Generally the 3rd Saturday of the month, 11am - 12:30pm.

NEW LOCATION!!!

STATEN ISLAND

Our next Staten Island meeting will take place Saturday, September 9th, 1:00-2:30pm, at the Everything Goes Book Cafe, 208 Bay Street, Staten Island, NY 10301. Please note there are stairs up to the meeting room and the location is not wheelchair or stroller accessible. Please plan accordingly. We look forward to seeing you there!

Become a member

There are many great reasons to become a member of BWI of NYC. Not only are you supporting an organization that promotes safe babywearing, you are also joining an amazing group of ladies (and gents!) who will be there to support you, geek out with you, and become friends and companions throughout your babywearing journey. Another GREAT benefit of becoming a member is gaining access to our Lending Library! Not sure if that toddler carrier will fit your child yet? Want to try out a new size woven wrap before purchasing? Never tried a mei tai? You can borrow each of these carriers - and more! Membership dues are $30 per year, and you must be a member for 30 days prior to checking out a carrier. We ask that carriers be returned after 30 days. And of course, we want to hear your reviews!

Please send your $30 via PayPal (we get to keep it all if you send it "friends and family") to nyc@babywearinginternational.org

Memberships are tax deductible donations.

Lending Library

We have dozens of different carriers available for you to check out! Each meeting site has its own branch of our Lending Library available for everyone to try on at the meetings, plus members may check out the carriers to try on at home and around town. Come to a meeting. Join us on Facebook to find out exactly which carriers are available at each location. We always have at least one of each "type" of carrier available to try/borrow at every meeting.

Meet Our Chapter Leaders

We are your VBEs, ABEs, MBEs (Volunteer, Advanced, and Master babywearing educators) and CSVs (Chapter Support Volunteers). We lead the support meetings, moderate the lively Facebook group, and do a lot of behind the scenes work with Babywearing International.

Alisa (VBE - Staten Island) I started babywearing when my son was born, almost 8 years ago. I wore him exclusively in a Moby wrap until he was almost two. Then when my daughter was born a little over a year ago I found BWI and have been wearing her in a variety of different wraps and carriers ever since. Babywearing has been a life-changer for me and I’m very much looking forward to sharing the babywearing love.

Caprice (MBE - Manhattan) is a private babywearing consultant and Certified Go Diaper Free Coach in Inwood, where she also volunteers as a Master Babywearing Educator for BWI-NYC. She homeschools her three children, ages 9, 7, and 5, and has been wearing babies since 2007. Caprice has trained at the Babywearing Institute (USA), ClauWi Trageschule (Germany), and with Arie Brentnall of the Canadian Babywearing School. She served as a consultant for Sakura Bloom's Sling Diaries blog project in 2011 and for Open Air's "Ready, Set, Baby" ebook project in 2012, and is the President of BWI-NYC, where she also serves as the Director of Education. Caprice is a professionally trained opera singer and shares a wonderfully loud, chaotic, musical home with her professional opera singer husband.

Evo (CSV - Brooklyn) Evo or Evonne is a recent addition to the chapter staff as a Chapter Support Volunteer and mostly helps out behind the scenes. She and her husband babywore from birth - for bonding reasons and for getting around logistics. The family often did hikes together in the wooded areas around NYC and elsewhere like Banff, Dallas Fort Worth, and the mountains near Denver, with the little one in tow. There was also a time when the family was traveling nearly every weekend so wearing became an indispensible tool to their family's needs. They have used the moby, a bei dai, a ring sling, a soft-structured carrier, a hiking child carrier, and woven wraps. Evo and her little one remember the singing, 'conversations' and story telling while wearing, as well as long wrap-naps and transfers after 12-24 hours of traveling. Although the family is no longer wearing, Evo supported the volunteer-run organization from its inception and is now back in a more official capacity. Evo and the family are very much into the outdoors. Evo enjoys the arts, reading, crafts, and works full time in Manhattan

Judy (CSV - Manhattan & the Bronx) started babywearing her now-two-year-old as soon as postpartum recovery allowed. As a daily babywearer, she doesn't know where she would be without it, and has been enjoying the adventures of attempting to try ALL the carriers. Beyond babywearing, Judy is a formally trained musician (education, therapy and performance), freelance photographer, Girl Scout, and holds down a day job in the legal realm.

Kasey (ABE - Queens) is mom of two boys (born 2011 and 2014) and has been wearing them since birth. She loves wraps and buckle carriers but has been known to experiment with other things too. They frequent the playgrounds of Sunnyside and museums around the city. When not deciding who gets to go up and who has to walk, Kasey is busy finishing her PhD in Psychology, researching how media use impacts learning and development. Kasey leads the Woodside meetings.

Katie (VBE - Manhattan) I started wearing my daughter shortly after she was born in summer '15- she only wanted to nap in my arms and our stretchy wrap was such a lifesaver. We traveled to Guatemala when she was a few months old and my in-laws helped to get me started on a love of back wrapping. Since then we've been on a mission to try every kind of carrier and wrap out there. Living in a 5th floor walk up I appreciate the ease of leaving the house without lugging a stroller. Before I became a mom I worked as a director in international health and social enterprise nonprofits here in NYC. I'm from Portland, Oregon originally and everything you see on the tv show 'Portlandia' is true (wink). ;

Mariana (VBE - UES) has been baby wearing since her baby came home from the hospital in April 2014 when her doula introduced her to the Moby wrap. She was hooked from the start due to the freedom it gave her as a new mom and the special bonding with her baby. A former preschool teacher, Mariana loves helping other caregivers learn to wear their babes!

Marissa (VBE - the Bronx) I wore my 10 year old briefly but really got into babywearing when my 3 year old was born relocating from Florida to NYC it became a necessity and will be for a while since welcoming our newest addition in June. I'm a SAHM of my three boys and will soon be going back to school for my degree in nursing.Random fun fact: I know how to change the oil and brakes on my car and usually do it myself :)

Marta(VBE - the Bronx) is a mom of two little girls. She is from Poland where babywearing is quite popular so she had always known that she would wear her babies. She is also a birth and postpartum doula, certified babywearing consultant and lactation counselor. Marta leads the Bronx meetings.

Melisa (CSV - Queens) My babywearing journey began with wearing my oldest, now 6, when she was born with a Moby. Shortly after her birth I began attending meetings in Forest Hills and discovered the SSC love - we literally wore our Ergo to pieces! I was always wrap curious at meetings but it was not until after the birth of my second, now 2, that I finally braved the world of woven wraps. And while I have only figured out a few carries, there is nothing better than a quick ruck with my not-so-little guy as we walk our oldest to school each morning.

In my non-babywearing life I have spent 10 years working with, learning from, and teaching some pretty amazing young folks in one of the few alternative NYC public high schools in Queens. I am currently on a child-care leave enjoying some time with my kiddos before I return back to teaching.

Fun fact: Despite my love for and commitment to public education, I often dream of becoming a children’s librarian when I grow up.

Millie (CSV - Queens) We were in the hospital for several weeks days after birth and after we were discharged, we had a strict doctors visits every week. Commuting with a car seat, heavy stroller and an elderly woman (my mother) was not effective or efficient. I searched Facebook for guidance and encountered the BWI site. I jumped to the opportunity, got my first SSC and went to the meeting to make sure my baby was safe and comfortable. Baby loved it and we were babywearing since. She's now 16 months and thriving. Took us a while to get the right carrier as she is tall, but I wouldn't have found it if it wasn't for the LIC BWI team! Next step is learning how to wrap!

Nevette (VBE - Manhattan) I started babywearing when my son was very tiny in early 2014 and he did not like me to EVER put him down. I also had a fear of attempting subway stairs with a heavy stroller, a fear that continues to this day. I began my babywearing journey with a gifted stretchy wrap and a borrowed soft structured carrier (SSC) with an insert. As my son grew and those carriers became less comfortable for us, I branched out and discovered the many types of baby carriers out there. Babywearing (and toddlerwearing) have given me so much, including the ability to snuggle and/or breastfeed my son when I get home from work without being tied to a chair, which is essential for getting things done in the evenings! Babywearing also continues to be our go-to means of transportation in navigating public transportation around the city. When I am not volunteering with BWI, I am working on a PhD in Chemistry at Columbia University.Random fact: I can write with both hands - forward with the right, and backwards with the left.

Rose(VBE - Queens) started babywearing in 2014 and never looked back. A failed academic, she now fills her days homemaking and community organizing. For Rose, babywearing has been a gift, a tool, and a source of deep personal empowerment.

Sarah (VBE - Manhattan)

Sheena (VBE - Manhattan) I started Babywearing when my first son was born in 2012. I started with a K'Tan and graduated to a Ring Sling as he got a little bigger. I don't really know how I got into babywearing - I think it just seemed to make sense... When I was pregnant with my second son, I became wrap curious, but had an unwilling participant in my first, so had to wait for my second one to become acquainted with wrapping. I pretty much primarily wrapped him once he was born and he still is worn every now and then, but mostly by my husband because our little girl gets jealous. Now the 3rd, the little sister, has been wrapped and slinged and buckle carried even more so than the boys since we have been in New York! I have always appreciated babywearing in allowing me to survive with 3 littles, but never so much as when we moved here last year and became reliant on public transportation! I currently am able to stay at home with my kiddos, but I am also an RN and worked primarily in the adult and pediatric oncology world. Babywearing has been such a blessing to us, I am so thankful that I get to help others discover the same!

Become a volunteer

We would LOVE for you to join us as a Volunteer Babywearing Educator (VBE) or a Chapter Support Volunteer (CSV)! More leaders would mean more meetings, more folks available to assist at meetings, and a stronger and more vibrant BWI chapter. Becoming a VBE involves participating in a group online training, attending a one-day babywearing bootcamp, submitting a written application to BWI International, and successfully demonstrating several ways to use each type of carrier during a Skills Assessment test with a Master Babywearing Educator from BWI. Becoming a CSV requires an online training and meeting with your local chapter leader. CSVs do not teach babywearing but support the chapter in many other ways. If you are interested in joining us as a VBE or CSV, please contact us at nyc@babywearinginternational.org.

Donate

Our group is rapidly growing & we want to add more meeting locations & expand the lending library, but we need your help first! HERE IS WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:

1) BECOME A MEMBER! Just $30/year will help us expand the Lending Library that members get to use! Join here!

3) DONATE CARRIERS!! We would love to add your carriers to the Library too!! Please email nyc@babywearinginternational.org to make arrangements.

4) DONATE GOODS OR SERVICES!! To discuss how you can help BWI of NYC grow with an in-kind donation, please email nyc@babywearinginternational.org.

**BWI of NYC is a non-profit organization; donations are tax-deductible**

News

5.15.2016

We have a new location for our Brooklyn meetings! Join us at Nurture(Bklyn) [78 East 2nd St] on Friday May 20th at 9.30 a.m.

4.15.2016

Welcome our newest VBE: Rose L. Moon!

9.23.2015

Congratulations to Caprice Corona on becoming an ABE (Advanced Babywearing Educator). For her project, Caprice created a pinterest board for BWI of NYC. You can find it here: https://www.pinterest.com/bwiofnyc/

9.25.2015

International Babywearing Week is approaching soon! Please join BWI of NYC as we celebrate on October 3rd through the 10th! We have several special events planned throughout the week - a fun stash share event, a special Babywearing Ballet class, a weaving studio visit, and more!! We will also host tons of games (complete with prizes!) in our Facebook group throughout the week.

Be sure to join us for our big annual picnic and fundraising raffle on the morning of October 10th in Central Park!! You could go home with a new Tula, a babywearing coat, a family photo session, or one (or more) of the more than 3 dozen other exciting items we will raffle off to NYC babywearers!! We will have tons of demos throughout the morning too. And while you're there, you can finally have some professional babywearing shots done with a mini-portrait session!!

Visit our Facebook group (www.facebook.com/groups/babywearersnyc) to see the complete events schedule, RSVP for events, &tojoin in the online fun!! Watch the group for portrait session and raffle ticket info too./

Meet at HPS Park between Borden Avenue and 54th Avenue off Center Blvd towards the water on the grass around the astroturf circle, where the school usually holds recess (across from LIC Landing and the ferry stop).

This area is out in the open so please bring sun protection for you and your little ones!